The effect of health literacy level on health outcomes in patients with diabetes at a type v health centre in Western Jamaica.
Sherryon Gordon Singh, Joyette Aiken
PMID 31406751WHAT IT FOUND
Health literacy was not related to diabetes outcomes like blood glucose control or complications.
However, older age and lower education were significantly associated with lower health literacy levels.
Key findings
01There was no linear relationship between health literacy scores and health outcomes.
02Health literacy scores were significantly related to age and educational level, but not gender.
03Health literacy level was not related to the control of random blood glucose, acute complications, or chronic complications.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was conducted at a single site, limiting generalizability. The sample size was relatively small (88 participants). The participants were predominantly female (77.3%), which may not represent the broader diabetic population. The study design was cross-sectional and non-interventional, so it could not determine causal relationships. Social, cultural, and religious practices were not considered, which may influence health literacy and outcomes. 17 forms were incomplete, reducing the analyzed sample from the calculated target of 105.
Declared interests
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or non-profit sectors.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that health literacy interventions are unnecessary for improving diabetes outcomes. The lack of association in this cross-sectional study does not prove that literacy does not matter, only that it was not correlated with these specific outcome measures in this small, single-site sample.